Native Language Interference in English L2 Word Recognition and Word Integration Skills

Abstract

The current study was planned to investigate the interference of the native language in English word recognition and word integration skills in L1 speakers of French and Persian. The participants of the study were 48 intermediate and upper intermediate native Persian and French-speaking EFL learners studying in VUB and ULB universities in Brussels, Belgium. All in all, based on the results of ANCOVA, there was a strong and positive relationship between EFL learners' word recognition and word integration skills and their L1(first language). The RT (reaction time) resulting from the LDT (lexical decision task) showed that the Persian EFL participants were able to outperform French EFL participants, though Persian and English are orthographically and typologically distant languages. On the other hand, in a word integration task, French participants showed superiority over Persian participants in the direct object reading time that emphasized the positive aspect of L1 interference as facilitation.